What does it mean to be liberated? When we speak about liberation, we think of freedom from tradition and escape from conservative ideas. I have been thinking about this word my dear ones, and my understanding of it is to be free from fear.

What does fear do to one? There are five consequences. Fear weakens one’s immune system and can cause:

1. cardiovascular damage
2. gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome
3. decreased fertility
4. premature aging
5. premature death

Twelve places where one’s body accumulates stress.

1. Lower back
2. Gut
3. Heart stores feelings
4. Head
5. Respiratory system
6. Shoulders
7. Voice and throat
8. Sleep
9. Jaw
10. Pelvic floor
11. Hips
12. Lungs
13. Torso

These places where stress accumulates lead to the sympathetic system overtaking and fear becomes one’s boss. It is said that fear is the emotion of the kidneys and bladder. It is a normal adaptive response but can become chronic.

The amygdala is the part of one’s brain that receives information from many parts of the brain and interprets this information to generate the emotion of fear.

Fear cripples one and one is enslaved in the bondage of one’s thoughts and feelings. How does one become liberated from fear, because the key lies in the freedom. This freedom for many is within grasping distance but one’s mind is clouded with stress and fear. One has to understand that liberation is not that one can do exactly as one pleases. Liberation means complete cessation of sufferings. It implies the possibility of one’s release into a state of freedom. It means gaining self-knowledge and disidentification from the mind-body-complex in Hinduism.

Our ego

One uses the word liberation often, without thinking of the pure meaning behind it. What is one liberating oneself from? Liberation from a discriminating society, which can be color, race and sex. We are suppressed and oppressed by our ego. Our ego controls the voice in our mind.

The next step is to comprehend what fear is. It is the enemy of every person; it is disruptive and produces weakness. Fear is in our mind; it is easy for it to enter and then it makes our mind its kingdom. Our mind has three doshas (faults), they are mala—impurity, vitshepa—distraction and avarna—evil. They are inborn and the mind, which is evolving from prakriti composed of sattwa, rajo and tamo guna, they come up.

How do we rid ourselves of fear in order to attain liberation. This is accomplished with having a symbol in the space behind our eyebrow center, and when we are chanting, we keep the symbol and when we find that our mind is wandering, the symbol brings us back. This is the first part of Yoga Sadhana, and our fears leave us and enable us to become liberated. Liberated means to be fearless, to face the consequences and look upon others with compassion.

We become liberated from our anxieties and negativity, and we can confront life.

On High Waves

The power of Yoga lies dormant within the human frame.
This wonderful symbol lies confined within the four wafts of mooladhara.
Oh aspirant! If you want to witness this Maha Shakti
If you want to be flooded by its unending Grace
Remain fearless.
Witnessing Yoga shakti, does not make you afraid,
It makes you fearless.
Fear of this world of the seen and unseen
Of acquiring or being of anger and hostility
Of life and death are the samskaras of fear
Are hindrances on the path of the awakening of Yoga Shakti.
Fear is a personal feeling
It is an individual’s complex.
True liberation is to “live like a lotus in the mud.” – Swami Satyananda Parmahamsa

The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.
May freedom be seen, not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to please to do what is right. – Martin Luther King

Aim Hrim Klim